BY JAN HAAG

The Desolation Poems

POETIC FORMS USED IN ENGLISH

INTRODUCTION AND INDEX

Poetic Forms Used In English is a project in which I intend to
write at least one poem in every form used in English and, as it is
working out, to delve from time to time into forms from other languages
which may not, so far, have been used in English. No one can put a
definite number on how many "English" forms there are. The variations,
variants, versions, the whole, partial or re-arranged borrowings from
other languages, and the possibilities within forms are too numerous to
offer a stable count. About 400 -- perhaps. Began on July 18, 1997 (after
two aborted earlier efforts) I have as of today, February 5, 1999, written
a poem in each of 326 different forms. The project continues...

The theme is desolation. Not only desolation of landscape and spirit, but
desolation of the mind, of psyche, creative energy. Many are positive
poems, as I happen to love the desolate landscape of the desert. When I
drive into the desert, see the desolation, the form and the bones of the
landscape, I feel I can breathe again. I love wide open spaces, spaces
where "nothing" grows. I love the sea. I love paved over and bricked in
spaces too, if they are beautifully proportioned and monumentally
conceived as is Red Square at the University of Washington and Red Square
in Moscow.
When I was in Russia, the beauty of Red Square was mitigated, for there
were guards standing about making sure you walked within marked paths
across the vast open space. They didn't want you wandering just any place
in the nothingness. There is danger -- perhaps especially -- in
emptiness.

There are questions, poems, desolations of the mind that I cannot seem
to
get beyond. Desolations in trying to solve problems, particularly the
problem: to see things as others do. I see
the ridiculous in the held opinions about many things on this wide green
ball bouncing through the void and realize that almost all of what is
called "human knowledge" consists in mere entertainment for the mind.

There are desolations of being alone, desolations of being with others.
There is also the desolation of acquiring orphanhood at sixty-three;
desolation as seen in a sea of sand; in a morning with nothing to do.
The poems are being posted in the order in which they were written. They
are, however, indexed alphabetically by form name. (Some
of the poems, but by no means all of them, have individual names).
Eventually I hope to cross-indexed all the poems by type, country of
origin, etc.

For the most part, I choose the form of the day at random -- whatever
happens to strike my fancy. An open-ended adventure -- as is life. I very
much enjoy these wanderings on the "grid", and hope that you will too.

Jan Haag
February 26, 1999
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington